Yankees Deivi Garcia makes big jump in ESPN prospects ranks

ESPN prospect guru Keith Law recently released his midseason top 50 list — and Yankees pitcher Deivi Garcia jumped from No. 61 where he began the year, to No. 29.

Twenty-year-old Yankees prospect Deivi Garcia is one of the hottest names being discussed in baseball circles.

Whether it’s because any trade the Yanks look to make will likely result in the opposition asking for him in return, or that general manager Brian Cashman believes Garcia could help the 25-man roster before the end of the year, Cashman has also let it be known that Garcia will not be moved for a rental piece.

After tossing a scoreless 14-pitch opening frame in the Futures Game, Garcia is moving up the charts in regards to the top prospects in all of baseball.

ESPN’s Keith Law recently released his midseason rankings of the top 50 farmhands in the game — and Garcia, who was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on July 7, came in at No. 29.

Considering Law had Garcia listed at No. 61 to start the year, it’s a monumental jump for the kid with the 16.9 K/9 across two different minor league levels in 2019.

Here’s an excerpt from Law’s piece detailing Garcia:

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"“… he’s always 90-96 with three viable off-speed pitches, usually at least two of them showing plus, and hitters cut through his fastball like he’s throwing 105 with spin. There’s a ton of deception in his delivery — from behind the plate, I can’t pick the ball up until the last possible second from his hand — and he pitches in the strike zone with the confidence of a big leaguer.”"

Garcia will make his RailRiders debut on Monday versus the Columbus Clippers and will look to add to his cumulative 3.01 ERA, 1.209 WHIP and 114:33 K:BB ratio across 68.2 innings.

After allowing only two long balls thus far, it’ll be interesting to see how Garcia’s evolving four-pitch repertoire plays out at the highest minor league level — and if he indeed will be ready to help the Yankees come September.